When we saw Intel's MSRPs for its three K-series Coffee Lake CPUs, there was one that stuck out as being a potential game-changer for those not looking to spend more than £200 on a CPU.

The Core i3-8350K is subject to the biggest core boost in percentage terms of all the K-series Coffee Lake CPUs, doubling from two to four threads like all desktop Core i3s, although it does lack Hyper-Threading, so it only has four threads.

As a result, it won't be twice as fast in any test as an older Core i3, as most did sport Hyper-Threading and thus four threads. However, AMD has a couple of well-placed tricks up its sleeve in the form of the Ryzen 5 1500X and Ryzen 5 1600. The former costs the same but offers eight threads instead of four, while the latter is of course the lower of the two Ryzen 5 six-core CPUs, which offer 12 threads.

The big question, though, is whether we're looking at a cut-price version of the Core i5-7600K here - a £200+ CPU - and one that could mean significantly cheaper options for overclockers on a budget, or if there are some hidden limitations that mean Intel's Kaby Lake quad-core is still worth buying.

The specifications look good on paper. The Core i3-8350K has 8MB L3 cache - two more than the Core i5-7600K - and it has a 200MHz higher base frequency. The only area where the older CPU seems to have an advantage is that it also sports Turbo Boost, reaching a peak of 4.2GHz, whereas the Core i3-8350K isn't able to boost at all.

Still, given the fact we're talking about a CPU that right now retails for less than £160, it's a massive £40-50 cheaper than the current price of the Core i5-7600K. Amazingly, the dual-core Core i3-7350K is still doing the rounds, albeit at a slightly cheaper £143, but it's fairly easy to say that any Kaby Lake Core i3 probably has its days numbered.

The final big CPU launch of the year sees Intel aiming at AMD in the mid-range to give Ryzen a bloody nose, with the Core i7-8700K seeing a 50 percent core boost compared to the Core i7-7700K for not a lot more cash.